Drilling machines may include a drilling apparatus which may include, in part, a drill head configured to engage a work surface at a worksite. The drilling apparatus may include cables, which may be used, along with other components of the drilling apparatus, to facilitate the movement and/or positioning of the drill head, and may further facilitate the engagement between the drill head and the surface which the drill head may be acting upon. However, such cables may wear, may stretch, and may fail due to factors and/or conditions including but not limited to the cables experiencing repeated use over time, which may lead to loss of productivity due to machine downtime and in some cases may even cause damage to other components of the drilling apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,138,925 B2 to Nield (hereinafter, “the '925 patent”) to relates to relates to microprocessor controlled circuits and signals responsive to the proximity or distance of an object coming too close to or moving too far from another object, and is useful for setting, controlling and displaying travel limits and ton-mile data of hoist equipment used on cranes, general hoists and drill rigs. In particular, the '925 patent discloses a multi-function cable hoist system controller which monitors a variety of drilling rig hoist system functions, including, positioning of the hoist block of the hoist system, speed/momentum of the hoist block, and hoist block loading. The controller can also monitor cable ton-mile parameters, weight on the drill bit, and drill bit penetration rate monitor. The controller automatically controls operation of the hoist system's draw-works when the system's operation exceeds certain preset and user specified parameters.